Blue Silence
by CloudsOfHindrance
Summary: AU: Friends are becoming more than just friends. The nightmares are becoming more than just nightmares. And death...death always remains the same. Eventually RobRae


**Disclaimer: Teen Titans…the book Blue is for Nightmares…not mine…**

**Here it is! Blue Silence…**

**I don't know if the challenge is over but this story is for Alena Chan's.

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They always make me loathe sleeping. They always drive me to the brink of insanity with the cryptic messages that I have yet to decode. And they, the dreams, are always the same. Always at night, in some dark forest, looking for Kori. I would search desperately, running past the brush and branches, ignoring the form lurking after me. It was a man…or either a very stout woman…but he or she never failed to follow me. Wind whipped past my ears, blurring out the night's sounds, making my eyes water at the corners. And the pain that seared throughout my entire body--sharp…blinding…real.

And I get to experience the joy of having them again. I used to bask in the presence of night but now I dread when the moon rises over the horizon.

At first, I ignored the dreams that plagued my sleep. A part of me didn't want to accept that Kori might suffer the same fate as Michelle. Before Michelle, I thought silence was the only option. I could keep her safe in my own way. Silence was safe. That much I knew. After the reality sunk in though, I knew I couldn't just cast aside my instincts. My mother said to trust my instincts no matter how terrible it may seem. She said that it may be a loose form of premonitions, alerting me to danger, and that I could use them to save someone. _This time_, I managed to add.

I stare at the lavender candle on my nightstand and then decide to reach for it. Inches from my face, I smell the aroma and it doesn't expel any solace whatsoever. Hopefully a spell could have an opposite reaction. I fumble for a razor blade in the drawer and knick my finger before successfully withdrawing it. A bead of blood rolls down my hand and I wipe it on the bed.

Carving **K.S.A.** carefully into the candle, wax crumbles and falls with every stroke made. They're Kori's initials. Kori Stacey Adams. I look to her. Her bed is across the room from mine and she's painting her toenails with interesting depictions of panda bears. I scoff slightly. I don't know how she and I could ever be best friends. We're so different from each other and I suppose that's why we fight so often but we are still friends nonetheless. And roommates.

I toss the razor to the side without much care of where it landed.

"Are you going to get some sleep any time soon? Or are you too busy with your love spell over there?" Kori teased while keeping her focus on her black-and-white toes.

"I'll sleep when Alex Roman comes in and pronounces his undying love for me," I reply sarcastically. Kori giggles and offers nothing more to our conversation.

I let my thumb slide over the letters before lighting the wick and setting it gently beside my lamp. Sage was the last ingredient I needed and I could finally rest without those taxing dreams. A withering piece was lying under a spare pencil and soon it was twisting and burning in the bright flame.

"Be careful with your candle. You know it's not allowed in the dorms. And don't you have a midterm test first thing in the morning?" My roommate of two years had her maternal side.

"Yes, Mom." I peer inside the candle and around the center was a small pool of liquefied wax. Quickly dipping my finger into its depths as so to avoid a potential burn, I smear it hurriedly, touch the top edge, and murmur: "So above-" I touch the bottom, "So below." Now, I'm ready.

Kori's already settling in for sleep, her lips softening and eyes drifting closed. Even at midnight, she's still beautiful. Her skin glows ethereally as her short red hair fans over her pillow. I guess that is why a great deal of the male portion of Hillcrest's student body swoon after her…why Richard keeps coming back, even following three break-ups.

I fall back onto my firm pillow and concentrate on the calming moon. My eyelids grow heavy and the last things I see are the 'K' halfway gone and the sage curling in on itself, turn black, and disappear. Like I pray for my dreams to.

* * *

I sit across from my mother at the kitchen table, reading one of the family spell books. She waits in case I have another question to ask her and drums her fingers over the table. I notice the amethyst ring on her fourth finger and can't remember a time when she had not worn it.

"It's yours." She tries to slide off the ring but it stubbornly remains. I watch as she goes to the sink and runs her hand under the water to make her task easier. It obediently slips off this time and I shake my head when she puts it on my finger.

"It's yours," She repeats and I narrow my eyes in confusion. "It was meant for you, my child. Look at the palm side."

I turn over my hand and see the initials bored into the smooth finish. R.A.R. Raven Arella Roth. **My** name.

"It's yours," She says for the third time and I nod and accept her gift. A knock at the door grabs our attention and I stand.

"It's probably Kori. She said she needed to speak to me about something terribly important," I roll my eyes and thought about the terrible things she may need to tell me: Do you think I should dye or cut my hair for Chad's party?

"Tell her I said hi." I hear Mom mutterand then went to the porch. Surprisingly, she wasn't on the steps waiting for me and I spin around, waiting for her to jump out and attack me. Instead I got a rustling noise from behind the house and I go to investigate. I see a shadow move in the 'mini-park' in the backyard, a luxury of living in rural New York, and shake my head at Kori's attempt to rattle me.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand and the temperature drops sharply.

"Kori? You can stop hiding now, Kori." I shout out in a desperate need to leave this place immediately. Nothing but silence reaches my ears and that shadow moves again.

"RAV-" It was Kori calling for me and my name turned into a muffled scream. I break into a run, forgetting about my fear and the absence of light. I could barely see two steps ahead of me but nothing slows me down. My friend was in trouble and I had to help her in any way I can. She screams again and I follow her shrill voice until abruptly it stops and so do I.

I begin to call out for her but I sense someone else. Someone not too far away. It gets colder and then the pain starts. I double over and clench my stomach, hoping-praying for this nightmare to end. Biting my lip, I straighten up and continue in my search. Only a few yards further did I halt once more but this time was not of my choice. I tripped on an upturned root and feel my shoe abandon my foot. I blindly hunt for it but when a twig snaps, I get to my feet, one barren, and look around frantically. Never did I think that one's heart could hammer out of their chest but at the moment, it seemed possible.

"Raven…" This definitely wasn't my lost friend. It was a male, of that I am sure, but I can't see him. His voice echoes all around me, even though he hadn't spoken anything other than my name.

I push forward and step lightly. My thoughts are jumbled and incoherent and as of now, I deem my mind useless. I can't comprehend anything other than this stranger following me and Kori being missing. I stumble and yelp as something sharp pierces through my sock and skin.

"Did the little bird hurt herself?" That voice droned out mockingly and I try to forget about it. I lean onto a tree and lift my foot to yank out the stick that had embedded into my arch. A hiss escaped my mouth and I grip the sharp wood in my hand. If it could hurt **me** like this, it could hurt whomever it was out there who somehow knew my name.

Blood soaks the bottom of my sock and I slowly lower my foot to the ground. I wince as the cool ground makes the wound throb painfully.

Without any kind of what would be a much appreciated warning, strong hands grab my wrists and wrap around me to pull me to an equally strong body.

"You can't hide, Raven," he breathes on my neck and makes me shiver. Kori screams for me once more.

"KORI!" My arms flail out and the sound of breaking glass and a blinding light surrounds me.

* * *

"Wake up, Raven!" I heed her orders and sit up, breathing in sharp puffs and throw my sheets to the floor in the process. Kori is standing over me, staring at me in that concerned way. The window next to my bed is nothing but a jagged hole in the wall and its glass has shattered onto the floor. My candle had been put out, wisps of smoke rising up in a formal dance. Most of the 'A' was untouched. That was why my dream had made that dreadful turn.

"What happened?" I ask and Kori sits on my bed.

"You were moaning and tossing in your bed and you looked a little flushed to me. I came to open the window when you screamed and scared me and the window closed a little to quickly and…" She saw me glance at candle. "I put it out. I hate lavender."

I toss my feet over the edge of the bed and sit them on the floor. I stood only to drop back down when something impaled my foot…the same foot from my dream. She gasped and bent over to pick up the object. My razor blade. What a lucky girl I am.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine, Kor." I hobble over to the closet to find some bandages and roll my eyes at what I saw next. Guess what it was. The black sneakers I wore in the dream. This is not a coincidence. I get what I came for and soon have my foot wrapped tightly. Kori has grabbed a broom and was sweeping up the little shards of glass.

"We need to cover this up with something until the dorm comes to fix it," I say to my roommate. She skips over to her closet and pulls out Richard's sweatshirt that he gave her when they were still seeing each other. She stretched the clothing over the window and was able to cover it effectively.

* * *

It's 4:40 A.M. and the phone rings. Can I repeat 4:40? In the morning?

"It's 4:40. Do you not own a clock?" I grumble into the receiver. Kori rolls over to look at me and her eyes widen in realization. Realization of what?

"Is Kori there?" The male caller asks.

"Yeah…and who's calling?"

"A friend."

"Can you be more specific?"

"A good friend."

This 'good friend' seems to be out of his 'good' mind. Kori snatches the phone away from me and crawls back to bed, talking in hushed whispers.

The only person with enough courage to call here so late…or early…was Richard and that was **not** Richard.

Our dorm door bursts open and in walks Terra, our neighbor down the hall. My eyes trail after her as she doesn't acknowledge me and heads straight for our mini-fridge. Must be out of habit or pure rude behavior.

"How I love your spontaneous visits, oh apparently starving one," I quirk an eyebrow when she tosses a finger into the air and hauls out at least half a dozen granola bars and a diet coke. She turns around and plops beside me.

"I love you, too…you little witch."

I smirk at her delayed reaction and gather up the food she had stolen.

"Hey!" Terra shouts in protest and claws for the bars.

"What makes you think you can come in here, at 5:00 in the morning no less, and gorge yourself on our food?"

"Because you love me and my charming ways."

I sigh and release her spoils.

"Who is she talking to?" Terra points toward Kori who is still uttering under her breath.

"Having a private conversation with a good friend, obviously."

I hear Kori mumble a quick 'goodbye' and turns over, grinning maniacally.

"Who was that?" Our intruder asks the best she could with her mouth full of granola.

"A friend," Were her only words and she comes over to us. I was about to reply with: "A friend, my ass." when her lightly tanned arm brushes mine and my head swirls violently. Flashes of images fly by in rapid succession and I couldn't even make a guess as to what some of them were. Three times did they slow down and I managed to see a long box wrapped in a ribbon, a dark red pool spreading around layers of short hair, and a ratty little cabin in the midst of some forest.

A premonition. A **real** live premonition. And I just had one. What the hell is this all about?

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**It's going to get better. Trust me. Just give it time. If you've ever read the book, you'd know that my version does vary some. I changed a lot of the stuff I didn't like.**

**Have a question? There's really only two that I won't answer directly: What's going to happen to Kori and who is the man following Raven in her dreams. Other than that, feel free to ask any that you may have.**

**BirdsOnTheBrai**n


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